Scott Burnside of ESPN.com puts into words something I've believed since the league announced the results of the Draft lottery last Summer:
It appears the Penguins will have the best shot at the first overall pick for the second straight year, given their seven-point lead for the league's last-place spot. That's quite an honor for one of the most dysfunctional, poorly run organizations in the league. The Penguins are followed by Chicago (ditto on the organizational front), Washington and St. Louis, who are all tied for 29th overall. Columbus would be the fifth team in the lottery.Based on commitment to winning, it would be fair and just if Columbus or St. Louis earned the first pick, given those teams' strong play in the face of a meaningless second half. Washington, a team that features Alexander Ovechkin and 19 other players with sticks, is always tough to play against and also would be deserving of the first pick.
You better believe it. I nearly blew a gasket when the league announced the format for the 2005 Entry Draft -- one that essentially rewarded the long-term dysfunction in Pittsburgh over a serious commitment to rebuilding in Washington.
You'll recall that the last time that the chance for the top pick was weighted based on the results over several years, rather than just the previous season's finish, something that allowed the Pens to snag Evgeni Malkin and Sid Crosby in consecutive drafts, and will most likely net them Phil Kessel or Erik Johnson in the next, even as they loaded up with overpriced veterans in preparation for the 2005-06 season.
It was a grossly unfair decision, one that all too predictably screwed the Caps, as they saw Pittsburgh get another top pick, while the Caps were stranded in the middle of the first round.
Sour grapes? You better believe it. And when the addition of just one more elite player can mean seeing your team vaulted into contention that much sooner, there's plenty of reason to resent the league for it.
Perhaps this is a good time to mention that Washington deserves an NHL All-Star Game, and a chance to host the draft too, Mr. Commissioner.
Not sure I follow. The NHL should come up with some sort of mystical “commitment to winning” quotient and use that to award the No. 1 pick? Seems to me the current draft lottery works fairly well.
If anything, I would suggest the Penguins did try to win this year. They went on the market and got free agents they thought would help. As it turned out, the signings backfired, but I don’t see why they should be ridiculed for going for it in the last offseason as if they weren’t trying to win.
Washington, on the other hand, was in the playoffs twice in the last five seasons (00-01, 02-03) and missed by two points in another (01-02). Maybe Washington fans should be wondering how management and ownership turned a playoff contender into one of the worst teams with the third worst attendance in the league?
As a Blue Jackets’ fan, you won’t hear me complaining about that proposed idea. Even if St. Louis got the 1st pick and not C-Bus, I wouldn’t gripe. Because like the op-ed states, they’ve been working just as hard against adversity and a fruitless second half of the season to just win and earn some respect.
Of course, that has no weight concerning the draft.
Tell me — how does putting an AHL team on the ice every night and trading away any veteran with the least amount of value equate to a “serious commitment to rebuilding”? It seems more to me like a cheap owner whose AOL money dried up more than anything else.
At least the Pens tried to improve this off season. The Caps sat on their hands and decided to go with a team that belongs in Hershey, not Washington. I don’t see how that makes them more deserving of a first round pick.
P.S. — Washington doesn’t deserve an all-star game or an entry draft. We’re talking about a team that had to block ticket sales for the 412 and 724 area codes during the playoffs because Pittsburgh fans would invade their building and drown out the home team. That’s almost as bad as Atlanta for Braves playoff games.
I’m glad Ted blocked you mullet-headed dopes from invading our arena, Icedog86.. Caps fans lobbied him to do it, because we didn’t want a bunch of Black and yellow-clad pens fans coming down to the stadium.
And as for an AHL team? Sure, the caps aren’t lighting the league on fire. But at least there is an honest attempt to start over with players such as Ovechkin, Pettinger, and Morrison. I’d rather the front office be honest about its chances, rather then trying to sign a bunch of washed-up retreads (read: Recchi, Pallfy, Gonchar, Leclair) in the hopes it can take the division. Pittsburgh surely didn’t try to improve. It was business as usual, and you can see that Pitt has a record even worse than DC’s.